Reflections on Contemporary School

 
Reflection on Contemporary Education
This class was the most culturally relevant class I have taken in education thus far. Throughout I learned not just what it means to be a teacher during turbulent times, but also what it means to be a person with empathy and how best to use that empathy.  I have split this reflection into two parts. The first is answering the guiding questions which help me as a learner, organize, and categorize the content I have learned. The second part is a “diary entry” which answers the question, what tools do I now have to be an agent of inspiration?

What strategies were gained that promote a healthy, and safe learning environment?
One major strategy that I love and have already started including in presentations for classes is establishing a common vocabulary. I had experienced establishing classroom expectations, but I felt that they were never concrete enough to be super relevant to a normal class day. But when discussing common vocabulary you are giving students the tools that they need to have harder, more in-depth conversations without imminent fear of microaggressions. Language is something that I am passionate about, and I truly believe it is the most powerful thing you can possess. When you give students words, and not dancing around topics, you open them up to so much potential. 
What is an equitable learning environment?
An equitable learning environment is one in which every student has what they need to succeed. This is different from the previous model of “equal” learning, which implied that every student needs the exact same thing to succeed. We have learned that this is not true and that some students need extra supports. This covers a lot of ground, from providing extra food to students who have food insecurity, to providing wobble chairs so that students who may have ADHD have a way to fidget. We have seen in videos and readings that the idea of equitable learning makes some people mad because they believe that every student should have the same exact things. What an equitable learning environment requires is empathy, and a good student-teacher relationship so you can know what a child needs. 
What strategies were gained that promote an equitable learning environment?
The main umbrella strategy that I learned that covers many specific changes is the ability to question myself and be okay with making changes to “the way things have always been done”. As an English major especially I had always figured that my classroom time would be spent telling students to read books than talking about them and then writing about them. While that will definitely still happen to some extent this class challenged me to question why does a book needs to be read instead of listened to? Why does a discussion have to be a whole-class discussion, where many students feel uncomfortable, why can’t it be in smaller groups or even one on one? If the point is the comprehension of material, why can’t students choose how they show that?  This class has opened my eyes to a wide variety of teaching possibilities that I hadn’t considered. By narrowing down the goal of the lesson, we are able to open it up as to how an individual student can best achieve that goal. 
Another thing that I learned is that “rapport+alliance = cognitive insight”. This is the basis of reimagining a learning partnership. Especially in the secondary ed sector, talking at students instead of talking to students is much too common. Building partnerships means that there is a give and take, and Hammond says that one of our main jobs is to make sure that a space is safe for learning and growth. 
What knowledge was attained on how to be anti-racist?
In order for a classroom to be equitable, it must also be anti-racist.  I learned that in an equitable learning environment, everyone in the class should be able to see themselves in the content we cover. “Take responsibility to reduce student’s social-emotional stress from stereotype threat and microaggressions.”(Hammond 2015). This goes further than just having representation though, it requires meaningful representation. White exceptionalism is still being taught in history and English classes across the country and the only time we talk about minorities is when they’re being brutalized or victimized. I am white, so I will never know exactly what this feels like. However, we have watched videos in class (the indigenous peoples day video comes to mind specifically) that have people talking about what it feels like to have their only representation to be violent and brutal. We glorify Greek status but scoff at indigenous art in our own communities. This also plays into oral tradition, and how in English classrooms it is not held to the same revere as literature. “Help students process new content using methods from oral tradition.” (Hammond, 2015). Being anti-racist is a proactive, not passive, task. 
What learning environment analyzing skills have I obtained?
This section of the class was tricky for me. I learned that talking about theory and putting it into a practical, realistic, lesson plan are two very different things. It was interesting working on the lesson redesign project in the group. We all picked out very different things that bothered us about the lesson plan, and we were all equally passionate about them. For me, my big issue was the ridiculous homework assignment. I really enjoyed being able to look at that lesson plan and see how all of our minds worked so differently to reach the same goal. Furthermore, I was able to absorb what they were saying, and I find that I’m able to catch onto problematic things much easier than before thanks to the inspiration from my group. The reason I think all of our responses were so different is that we are all different people, and every single person experiences a class differently. Each of us represented a different student in that class that would have a hard time with various things. Making sure to view a lesson from every kind of student, was a huge lesson to learn. 
What is my perspective on contemporary schooling, based on what I learned in this course?
Contemporary schooling means being an active member of the community the school is based in and doing your part to remain up to date on the social and political issues the world is facing. If you approach learning with empathy first and foremost and listen to your students and their guardians and other members of the community, you will build a learning partnership that will be a model of what is possible for the growth of you and your students.

Dear Future Brook, 

(for when you forget to do a large assignment until the night it's due....again)

Hey. How are ya? Did you impulsively book any tattoos recently? Yeah you did. Good job. 

Back to work yet? Awwwww what did the kindergarteners do today? Yeah? Adorable. 

This semester, PHEW what a doozy. You started it thinking you were going to live at Johnson, then went back to Lyndon, then went home. Poor Cait Wilkins doing all that paperwork. You also started this semester with a very narrow understanding of a lot of education theory, don't worry, Dr. Rob got you all situated. 

What surprises me the most about your growth is how much you thought you knew. You're liberal, you attend the BLM marches and even have the flag, but you had no idea how much was out there before you started this semester. To future Brook, the growth you have made intellectually in this weird and short but also terribly long semester is impressive. You did it, you got decent grades and you made some great friends and you helped around the house. You do a lot and put a lot on your plate and you forget to give yourself credit. Don't forget that self-care is NOT indulgence. You need to be emotionally okay to be the best you can be for your students. 

Your first semester at Johnson opened your eyes to just how ingrained racism and ableism is into our society, and into the field of education itself. You learned that the foundations of the psychology we teach only focus on rich white students. You learned that the neighborhoods and communities you live in are built as a direct result of racism. And you learned what your part is to do what you can.  

So grab the new American Lit anthology Dan probably made you buy, and grab some sticky notes because you've proven that you can be an agent of inspiration, but now it's time for the hard work. 

Also please drink a glass of water, you're probably dehydrated. 

Love, Brook